Transfer to Tradewinds

How long does it take to get to your Tradewinds flight once you arrive at the SJU airport via commercial flight? We are planning on using the Tradewinds VIP service. Thanks for any information.

On what airline are you arriving? Farthest arrival from Tradewind is AA, I believe. From the moment you get out of the “air bridge,” it takes 20 - 30 minutes to get to the Tradewind counter, depending on passenger congestion in the corridors & how fast you walk. JetBlue, on the other hand, is just around the corner & will take no more than 5 - 10 minutes.

Another variable in the time required to move from AA to Tradewind relates to a particular revolving door that formerly provided passage from the secure airport corridors into the space where the Tradewind counter is located. Some work (repairs?) was commenced with respect to it in February, which meant that it was unavailable for use. As a result, to get to the Tradewind counter, it became necessary to continue past this “entrance“ . . . through another one of the shopping areas . . . and halfway through the area of JetBlue gates to an escalator that takes you to a lower level, where you exit the secured area into a long hallway. At this point, you have to backtrack to the Tradewind desk (which is nearby to the JetBlue check-in enter).

Although it appeared that work on the subject revolving door was completed at the time that I recently passed through SJU to Tradewind, it wasn’t operational. When the referenced revolving door is restored to operation, the hike to Tradewind from American will be reduced by about 10 minutes.

We will be arriving on Delta. They seem to be coming in to terminal B. Do we have to go to baggage claim and get our bags or will the Tradewinds VIP do that?

From Tradewind's webpage:

[h=5]VIP Meet and Greet Service (Available in San Juan)[/h]Opt for our popular “VIP Meet and Greet” service for smooth and stress-free transfers between flights. Guests are met at the jetway of their inbound airline connection and escorted directly to Tradewind check-in and lounge. Luggage is retrieved and checked-in by Tradewind ($200 per group arriving on the same airline flight).

I have already signed up for VIP service. We are now booked on the last flight leaving for SBH on Friday and I was just trying to see if we could make it to the earlier flight. We don’t get to SJU until 1:25 though so maybe there is no way. I just hate getting to the island so late in the day.
Delta doesn’t have a flight that can get us to SJU any earlier.

ssdssi said:

We will be arriving on Delta. They seem to be coming in to terminal B.

Click to expand...

Same as American Airlines.

ssdssi said:

I have already signed up for VIP service. We are now booked on the last flight leaving for SBH on Friday and I was just trying to see if we could make it to the earlier flight. We don’t get to SJU until 1:25 though so maybe there is no way.

Click to expand...

There’s probably “no way” because even if you were able to hustle over to TW before the currently offered 2:05 flight, it likely, in my experience, will be fully booked. Your “meet-&-greet” rep, however, will be able to tell you if there are seats available. I’m also not sure when it happens, but it seems that the 2:05 flight goes away at some point . . . with the 4:10 flight being the only one available after 1:10.

In pre-Covid days, I sometimes would depart the US on an afternoon flight that got me to SJU in time for dinner. Staying overnight at a nice hotel near the airport, with a great meal, was relaxing . . . and I’d then get a morning flight to SBH (TW used to have one at 6:45 AM & another about 10 AM — I’d be settled in the Villa in plenty of time to get to a favorite spot for lunch!).

Which hotel did you prefer in SJU?
I think we may do this if we can get our PCR results early Thursday. It has been a very long time since we spent a night in San Juan so I will appreciate any recommendations.

We stay at the Embassy Suites. It is not a 5 star hotel but it is clean, quiet and close to the airport.

When we have late flight into SJU we stay at the San Juan airport hotel...it’s clean and location is great for easy walk to catch the early morning flight over to SBH..

If you would like a luxury experience, I recommend The Condado Vanderbilt Hotel. A beautiful property, with exquisite food and service in the "1919 Restaurant."

Another option in SJU is the Courtyard by Marriott Isla Verde Beach Resort, just up the street from the still-closed Ritz Carlton. It is minutes from the airport, relatively new, and is located on the beach. If such things interest you, it also has a casino. If you stay there, do arrange with the bellman to have a taxi waiting for you in the morning. The last time that I stayed there it took about 20 minutes to get a taxi.